


The Timeless Manor

by cutelittlekitty



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Anal Sex, Canon Compliant, M/M, Oral Sex, Post 13x22, Saving People Hunting Things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 14:20:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17582498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutelittlekitty/pseuds/cutelittlekitty
Summary: Most of the people from Apocalypse World have made it safely to this world and the bunker.  They’re all trying to find their place in Earth prime, however temporary or permanent that may be.  But when Charlie and Ketch disappear while on a hunt, along with everyone who goes to find them, it’s up to Dean, Cas, Sam, and Jack to save the day… or fall prey to the same fate.Written for Fic Facer$ charity auction; hope my bidder likes it! :D





	The Timeless Manor

**Author's Note:**

> a few notes before you start reading:  
> 1) I was only given the prompt 'NC-17, Cannon Compliant, Destiel', so I hope my anonymous bidder likes it.
> 
> 2) **Attention:** This could be considered dubious consent, only because Dean and Cas can't stop what happens. however, both make it clear to the reader that they want it, and have for a long time. Their only concerns are thinking the other wouldn't want it. **Also:** religious homophobia (sorry >.< just one person though, and they get put in their place)
> 
>  
> 
> 3) A huge thank you to [CR_Noble](https://archiveofourown.org/users/erudite12) for helping me through this monster when I got stuck on format and whether things read ok, and also to [lotrspnfangirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lotrspnfangirl/pseuds/lotrspnfangirl) for proofreading (note that I didn't accept all suggestions, so any errors in the fic are likely mine, not ones missed by proofreaders)
> 
> 4) both proofreaders suggested putting Dean's and Cas's thoughts in their own paragraphs, but I left them where they are intentionally, though I put them in (parenthesis) as well as the _italics_ to help them stand out better.
> 
> 5) there is also intentional past/present tense shifting. quite a bit. it should flow easily though when reading.
> 
> 6) how many notes do i need? wanted to mention, there is use of 'indian' and 'native' in the fic instead of native american. the references were made in 1799 and those were the terms used at the time. 
> 
> That’s it for here. I’ll have a couple notes at the end too.

1*****1*****1*****1*****1

“Dean, have you seen Charlie or Ketch in the past few days?” Mary asked after knocking on the door a couple times and peeking her head in without waiting for an invitation.

“Nothing! What? Who?” Dean sputtered, slamming his laptop shut. He totally was not looking at porn. No, really, he wasn’t. Air Gear was actually a very good, plot-filled anime. Just because he happened to be (re)watching the lesbian suggestive fan service bath episode… “Sorry, could you repeat that?” he asked, rubbing a hand over his face and hoping he wasn’t blushing as much as he probably was.

“I asked if you’ve seen Charlie or Ketch in the past few days?” his mom repeated, rolling her eyes. 

“Haven’t seen Charlie in a while. Who’s Ketch?”

“Oh, come on, Dean, if you can’t handle your mother hooking up now and then, I’m going to have to move out again.”

“Ok, first, gross. And B, seriously, who’s Ketch? I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Dean frowned.

“Dean, that’s not funny,” Mary replied, lips pursed, brows pinched together.

“I’m not trying to be funny, Mom, I honestly don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“Ketch. You know, former British Man of Letters, he and I hunted together for a while, lethal killer, rescued Gabriel from Asmodeus, you took him to apocalypse world so the hell-prince couldn’t get him, he and Charlie came and found the resistance for you? Any of this ring a bell?”

“Um… Everything but the name? That’s really weird. Like, I know there’s a guy that did all that stuff, but I swear I’ve never heard the name Ketch before. And it doesn’t sound right for the person who did all that stuff. Seriously, what kind of name is Ketch? Even if it’s British, what’s it short for, Ketchup?” Dean asked, wondering if his mom hit her head or drank crazy-juice or something.

“That’s his last name, Dean. His first name is Arthur. You honestly don’t remember him?” 

“Not at all. You’re saying that’s really his name? And that he exists? He’s a real person?”

“Come with me,” Mary huffed, turning and stalking down the hall to Sam’s door, knocking and opening it just as she had Dean’s. Sam didn’t hastily shut his computer though, just looked up from where he was watching a movie with Jack. Dean frowned over his mom’s shoulder, wondering why his brother got spared the embarrassment. “Sam, Jack, have either of you seen Charlie or Ketch?” Mary asked.

“Who’s Ketch?” Sam replied, just as Jack said “Ketch?” brows scrunched up in confusion.

“Right, you two come too then,” Mary said with a frustrated huff, continuing down the hall and pausing at Cas’s open door. “Cas, have you seen Charlie or Ketch recently?”

“Who’s-” Cas started, eyebrows furrowed.

“Nevermind, you come too,” she ordered, continuing to her own room, grabbing her laptop, then taking it out to the war room. Opening the device, she waited for it to boot up, then frowned. The others she’d collected gathered around her expectantly.

“Well? Mom? What’d you wanna show us?” Dean asked.

“I… I don’t remember,” she replied, frown deepening. “It was important, though.”

“Something about some guy named Ketch?” Dean prompted.

“Ketch? Who’s Ketch?” Mary asked.

Dean sighed. “That’s what you were supposed to tell us. Wait, are you saying you don’t know who he is either?”

“I… don’t think so?” Mary replied, frowning at the computer as though it should be giving her an answer and wondering what button to push for it to do so.

“Mary, is he a friend of Charlie’s? You asked if I had seen either of them,” Castiel supplied, trying to be helpful.

“Oh, Charlie! Yes, I had an email saying she was going to check on a missing persons case with…” Pursing her lips, Mary carefully moved the arrow to the email picture and clicked, then waited.

“Mom, double click,” Sam suggested helpfully. It wasn’t her fault she still had trouble with technology; none of this had even been thought of before she’d died. Well, some had, but most people knew nothing about computers back then, Mary and John Winchester included.

Quickly clicking twice, Mary bowed her head to hide her embarrassment as the email came up. She opened the recent letter from Ketch, wondering why the name seemed so alien. As she began reading though, her mind supplied images of a dark haired, somewhat-handsome man. Just flashes though; him cocking his gun, appearing behind the vampire she’d missed and giving her a blood-spattered grin as its head fell to the ground, smiling up at her in shocked pleasure as she rode him hard… How had she forgotten him? True, she’d moved on after killing him, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t remember. Right? “Looks like ‘Ketch’ went on a hunt with Charlie four days ago. No one seems to have heard from them since,” she informed the boys around her.

“Could our forgetting about Ketch be related to their job? What were they hunting?” Sam asked.

“I’m not sure. He just said it was a missing persons case. That could be almost anything,” Mary frowned.

“He did say where they were going, right? Maybe we should go after them,” Dean suggested.

Mary reread the letter, looking for a location. “Norris, Illinois. At least, he says the disappearances seem to be centered around that area. That’s apparently a very small town. Maybe they just don’t have the internet there?”

“I don’t know. It’s possible they don’t get service but even the smallest places tend have some form of access, though it’s often just dial-up,” Sam explained.

“Well, either way, they’re probably fine. Bobby and I can just head over and check on them,” Mary suggested.

“Mom, I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Dean frowned, glancing at Cas for support. “We all seem to have forgotten this ‘Ketch’ person. What if whatever they’re hunting is the reason? I don’t want to wind up forgetting you too.”

“Mary, Dean’s right. This doesn’t seem like a run-of-the-mill case. I don’t know of anything that can remove memories remotely. Perhaps we should do some research first. Maybe email Charlie, since we all seem to still remember her?” Castiel suggested.

Mary’s frown didn’t lift. “I guess we can try that first, but if we don’t hear back from Charlie within twenty-four hours, I’m going to look for her, regardless of whether our research turns up anything or not.”

“Fair enough,” Sam replied.

 

2*****2*****2*****2*****2

 

“Hey, Dean, have you seen Bobby?” Sam asked as he entered the kitchen where Dean, Cas, Jack, and several of the apocalypse world resistance were seated in various places (including countertops and stacked boxes) around the room.

“Hmm… Not today. Or yesterday. Come to think of it, I think he went on a hunt last week with…” Dean’s forehead crinkled as he tried to remember, “someone. Think that’s the last I saw him. That was… five? six? days ago. Anyone seen him since then?” he asked the folks in the room, who all shrugged or shook their heads.

“That’s the last time I saw him too. He should’ve checked in by now, but he hasn’t called or emailed. Not me, at least. Did he contact you?” 

Dean pulled out his phone and checked his email, texts and voice messages. “Oh, real mature, Sammy,” he frowned as he saw ‘Mom’ on the caller ID.

“What?” Sam asked.

“Don’t ‘what’ me, you know, Bitch. And there’s a limit to how far pranks should be taken.”

“Dean, I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sam sighed.

“Oh, right. Who else woulda gone in my phone and put ‘Mom’ in my contacts? Seriously bad taste, man,” Dean grumbled, thrusting the screen at Sam so he can see the evidence for himself.

“That wasn’t me; I wouldn’t do that,” Sam insisted, perplexed.

Jack split a puzzled look between Sam and Dean, wondering what was going on. “Dean, you put Mary’s information into your phone yourself.”

“Seriously. Not funny,” Dean growled, getting frustrated with the continuing bad joke, which apparently Sam pulled Jack in on too. “You don’t joke about things like that. Mom died in 1983 when Sammy was a baby.”

Jack’s brows furrowed deeply. “And she was resurrected by Amara two years ago. Dean, this isn’t a joke. Do you really not remember?”

Castiel gave a confused look too, almost comically identical to the one his ‘son’ wore. “That… That sounds right. Mary Winchester. She’s... why you were in the apocalypse world, right Jack?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Jack replied, relieved. “I went there to save her. For you, Dean. And Sam. You remember her, right?”

“Crap. I… kinda remember? But it’s like tryin’ to grab smoke. The more I try to remember, the less there is.” Dean frowned.

“Did she leave a voice message?” Sam asked.

“Nah. Looks like I must’ve answered and talked to her. Why don’t I remember that?” Dean wondered.

“Maybe it has something to do with Bobby’s case?” Cas suggested.

“That would make sense. She and Bobby got pretty close over in apocalypse world. Maybe they went on the hunt together. What was Bobby hunting?” Jack asked.

“I think he went to look for Charlie,” Dean replied. “But I don’t know what Charlie was hunting, or why she was out by herself.”

“Was she out by herself?” Sam frowned.

“Wasn’t she? Who would she have been with?” Dean asked

“Why would your mother have gone to look for Charlie? They don’t know each other well, do they?” Castiel queried.

Jack’s brows furrowed in concentration. “There was someone else. Someone she used to be close with… I know this. What was his name? Ketch! Arthur Ketch.”

“Who’s that?” Dean, Cas, and Sam all asked together.

“Woah, deja-vu,” commented Dean.

“Have we forgotten him before?” Sam wondered.

“I think so,” Cas replied. “I think… Mary was worried about him?”

“Whatever. Bottom line is, we gotta go after them. And make sure whatever got them doesn’t get us too,” Dean stated, hopping up to go start research. Cas followed him out to help.

 

3*****3*****3*****3*****3

 

“So, this is Norris,” Dean commented as they drove along the three blocks of businesses that comprised the town’s center. There wasn’t much there; a restaurant, auto repair, boarded up library, closed pharmacy, grocery, post office, and police station. “Don’t look like much.”

“It is a bit on the small side,” Sam agreed.

“How do people even go missing from a place this small? I mean, sure, if people were passing through and didn’t turn up at where they were s’posed to be next, but this place seems pretty out-of-the-way.”

“According to my research, there’s some history here. At least two of the missing people were supposed to have been history buffs, so that could be why they came this way,” Sam replied. “The odd thing is, when I contacted the people who filed the missing persons’, not one of them remembered making the report, or the person reported.”

“That’s weird. Why wouldn’t they remember?” Dean wondered

“It’s the same as you not remembering your mother or Ketch,” Jack suggested.

“Who?” Dean, Sam, and Cas asked together.

Jack just sighed and flopped back against the seat. Truth be told, he was struggling to remember too, but they could’ve at least written themselves reminders.

“Dean, I think he’s right. Bobby and Charlie wouldn’t have gone on hunts by themselves; we must have forgotten whoever went with them,” Cas chimed in, leaning over the front seat between the two brothers.

“`Kay, I vote for some lunch at the diner, then we’ll head to the sheriff’s and see what’s what,” Dean said, pulling into the small parking lot next to the restaurant.

 

4*****4*****4*****4*****4

 

“Well, I’ll be. That’s weird,” the sheriff frowned, slightly rounded face a bit red with exertion after his search through the paper files.

“Weird how?” Dean asked.

“I happen to know every soul lives in this hole, but I don’t remember a single one o’ these here missing persons. Sorry, Agent, looks like you were right. And that’s just plain wrong, ‘cause even if I don’t know the folks, I’d still be lookin’ for ‘em. These cases are all still open. Not that I want cases, mind. Good havin’ a nice, quiet place like Norris to look after. But I spend most my days lookin’ for somethin’ to do. If I’d ‘a’ known about these cases, you can bet I woulda been on ‘em.”

“Of course, Sheriff. If you could make us copies of those files?” Sam suggested.

“Oh, sure, sure. Hardly ever use this copier thingy. Be nice to knock some of the dust off,” the sheriff replied as he headed over to the ancient machine. “That’s odd. No dust. And it says the ink’s full, but I’m sure last I used it, it was almost out.”

“Hey, just saves you some work, right? How ‘bout those copies?” Dean asked, exchanging a knowing look with Sam and Cas. And yeah, he saw Jack rolling his eyes at being excluded from the silent communication, but the kid hadn’t been on enough hunts yet to learn the eye language.

“Here ya go, agents. Anything else I can do ya for?” the sheriff asked as he handed over the copied files.

“Yeah, just one more question, if you don’t mind. You ever seen any of these people?” Dean asked, slapping down some pictures on the counter between them.

The sheriff picked up the photos, looking at each one carefully. “Sorry, I don’t think so,” he replied, handing them back.

“Hey, no problem, man. Thanks for all your help,” Dean smiled, tucking the pictures back into his inside pocket.

“Sure thing. Always happy to help the feds. Hell, happy for anything that breaks up the monotony. You boys be sure to let me know if you need more help or backup.”

Sam gave a small salute with the file folders as he turned and headed out, followed by Jack, Dean, and Cas. Once outside, they headed for the Impala where Sam began looking through the missing person reports while Dean started the car and headed for the first address Sam gave him.

 

5*****5*****5*****5*****5

 

Hours later, Dean pulled off the side of the road. “No way am I taking Baby down _that_ ,” he frowned, waving a hand at the overgrown, barely-visible tracks in the underbrush.

“Dean, we don’t even know how far back this place is and you’re gonna make us walk?” Sam complained.

“Damn straight. ‘Sides, it’ll give us time to come up with a plan. ‘Cause barreling in just seems to get people lost and forgotten,” Dean replied, as he got out of the car, pushing the lock down before closing the door.

“ _You_ want to have a plan? Dean, are you feeling ok? Have you been replaced by a pod person?” Sam asked with mock concern as he got out too, Jack and Cas doing the same.

“Shut up, Bitch. People not havin’ plans is why we’re out lookin’ for them. No way we’re goin’ in there half cocked,” Dean spat back as he started down the path between the parallel indents that suggested this might once have been a driveway or road of some sort. It must have been busy enough at some point for the ruts to form, but didn’t look like it’d seen much traffic for years. Except for the freshly snapped branches. Ok, so someone had driven down here recently.

“Jerk,” Sam retorted automatically as he fell into step behind his brother, Cas hurrying past him to walk beside Dean, helping push the overgrowth out of the way.

“What plan can we make that will work out better than the others who have come here?” Jack asked, jogging to catch up with Sam.

“Maybe we should figure out what their plans were and … not do that?” Dean snarked.

“Charlie and her partner came first, looking for the people who have gone missing in the area. I’m not sure if their research turned up anything, but I doubt they would’ve had much of a plan. Charlie’s not a hunter, right?” Cas pondered.

“No, but Ketch is trained in tactics. He would have had a plan,” Jack supplied.

“Who’s Ketch?” Dean asked.

“The partner who went with Charlie. You’ve all forgotten him,” Jack explained, rubbing his temples.

“Wait, why do you remember?” Sam asked. “And why do we remember Charlie but not him?”

“Perhaps his nephilim or archangel nature makes him immune to the partial amnesia?” Cas suggested.

“It could be that, or it could relate to having spent so much time in apocalypse world, possibly both. I think that’s why you all remember some but not others. The ones you’ve forgotten; Ketch, Mary, Jodie, Donna and Claire, are all from this world. Charlie and Bobby are from apocalypse world and they’re the only ones you remember,” Jack reasoned.

“Huh. Kid’s got a point. So, the question now is, why do we remember people from the other world, what’s causing us to forget the ones from here, or does that mean different things have happened to different people?” Dean wondered.

“I think whatever’s going on, it’s the same for everyone. But it only causes the people from this world to be forgotten. Witchcraft? Curse? Demon deal gone wrong?” Sam comments.

“Yes, it could be any of those. That would make more sense than it being some manner of creature. And if that’s the case, we need to find out who cast the spell, curse, or deal. It might be better if we try researching local history before looking for the place where people have disappeared,” Castiel suggested.

Dean sighed. “People have been missing for too long. We need to find them before it’s too late.”

“Dean, we have to face the possibility that it’s already too late,” Sam replied gently. “And like you said, going in half-cocked won’t help anyone. Cas is right. We should go back to town, sneak into the library tonight and look through their early records.”

“But we’re already here,” Dean protested.

“We aren’t even sure if this is the place,” Sam argued.

Interjecting, Cas pointed ahead of them to where Jody’s police truck was parked behind Bobby’s van, a white flatbed Ford visible beyond. “I think that would suggest this is where the others disappeared.”

“What if Sam and I go back and research while you two go on and make sure the others are safe?” Jack suggested.

“Sounds good to me.”

“Dean, I don’t think that’s a good idea. What if Sam and Jack forget us?” Cas cautioned.

“Jack hasn’t forgotten anyone so far. An’ you’ll keep me safe, right Cas? I trust you, man.”

Castiel blushed, but didn’t make any further protest.

“Dean, I think Cas is right. This is too dangerous; splitting up doesn’t sound like a very good plan,” Sam protested.

“Always worked for Scooby and the gang,” Dean grinned.

“Actually, splitting up usually got them in trouble. And they never caught the bad guy until after they got back together. Besides, this isn’t a cartoon,” Sam countered.

“Maybe whatever enchantment it is has to be broken from the inside?” Dean shrugged.

“If it could be broken from the inside, don’t you think someone already would’ve done it?”

“You know how I am with research, Sammy. No way am I looking through dusty old records in a boarded up library. This makes sense, you know it does,” Dean wheedled.

“Sam, I won’t let you forget them. We need to find out more about this area, and we need to find our friends and keep them safe,” Jack added.

“Dean won’t be able to rest knowing where to look for the missing but not going there,” Castiel chimed in.

“Fine,” Sam said, throwing his arms up in frustration. “You and Cas check it out, we’ll research,” he added, holding out his hand for the keys to the impala, which Dean tossed over.

“Be careful with my Baby. And no bringing her down this-”

“Yeah, yeah, got it,” Sam grumbled, turning on his heel and heading back the way they’d come, Jack trotting after.

 

6*****6*****6*****6*****6

 

“Dean, wait,” Castiel said, throwing an arm out in front of Dean to halt his forward movement.

“What’s wrong, Cas?” Dean frowned.

“Do you feel that?”

“Feel what?”

“There’s something here,” Cas stated, bringing his left hand up to ghost through the air, right arm still resting against Dean’s chest, keeping him in place. Very faint, multi-colored swirls appeared in the air several inches in front of his raised hand, as though proximity triggered visibility.

“What is it?” Dean asked, looking out over the wide, empty field they’d found at the end of the tire tracks, which had gone on quite a bit past the long line of parked cars. Apparently, many of the other missing people had driven here too.

“Some kind of energy,” Cas replied, brows furrowed.

“Well, that’s helpful. Any idea what kind?”

“It doesn’t feel demonic. Not enochian either. Witchcraft, or possibly hoodoo? Neither of those seems quite right either though. But almost certainly human in origin.”

“Can we go around?” Dean asked.

“It appears to encompass the entire clearing. I suspect the others walked into it without knowing it was there. If they’re still alive, they are probably within the magic,” Castiel frowned.

“So, no way out but through?”

“Or no way out at all,” Cas replied pointedly. “If they could return after entering, I think they would have.”

“Chickening out?” Dean asked, running a hand through his hair. Truth was, he wasn’t so keen on the idea himself. But Charlie and Bobby were probably inside the magic barrier or whatever, and though he’d only met them recently, he felt a strong bond to both. Maybe he’d run across their counterparts in this world at some point?

“Dean, there is nothing wrong with being cautious. We don’t know what’s beyond this magic and people have gone missing,” Cas sighed.

“Yeah, but we don’t have anyone who can figure out what kind of magic it is and counter it, right? Sam and Jack are researching, we’re supposed to be going in and finding Charlie and Bobby; keeping them safe.”

“And the others,” Cas added absently as he moved his fingers closer to the energy. A spark, like static electricity, arced through the air, sending a sharp tingle through his flesh.

“What others?”

“... I don’t remember. _We_ don’t remember. But there were others. Some part of this magic must make people inside be forgotten on the outside. Jack seems able to remember, though. So we won’t be completely forgotten when we go in.”

“Oh, so we _are_ going in then?” Dean snarked.

“As you pointed out, we volunteered -well, _you_ volunteered us- to find the missing and keep them safe. There doesn’t seem to be an external force generating this magic. That would suggest it originates from the other side. Which means we have no other option but to enter and hope we can disable it from within, or that Sam and Jack come up with something in their research,” Castiel conceded.

“Great. Let’s go,” Dean huffed, tired of the lack of action. Pulling out his gun, he started forward, but Cas grabbed his arm before he could step through.

“We should maintain a physical connection, just in case. There’s no way of knowing what’s beyond the magic’s border,” Cas said, hand sliding down to grasp tightly around Dean’s wrist. Lacing their fingers together would have been better, but he doubted Dean would have approved.

“Right,” Dean said, gaze drawn to where Cas’s hand encircled his wrist. “On three, then?” he asked, gun held ready in his right hand. Cas nodded. “One… two…” They stepped forward on three.

 

7*****7*****7*****7*****7

 

“Welcome back, Master Norris!” Will exclaims, pulling his hand away quickly and clasping it behind his back. Why in heaven’s name had he touched the master in plain view of the manor? (“ _Why am I thinking of myself as ‘Will’, and why am I calling Dean ‘Master Norris’? This is… very confusing” Castiel mused._ ) “Was the hunt successful? Shall I take your horse, sir?”

“It went well enough. I daresay that buck will keep the manor fed for a bit. And more importantly, he won’t be wandering into the village anymore,” Jacob Norris replies with a wink, his back to the Manor house as he bestows a fond smile on the stable-boy, who can no more be called a boy than Jacob himself can. They’re both in their mid twenties, though Will is the youngest employee of the manor. “Have Thomas take Chestnut with the cart to go retrieve the carcass, then care for the horse when they get back,” Jacob says, letting their fingers touch briefly as he hands over the reins. (“ _SonofaBITCH! I’m not in control of my body. Why am I not in control of my body? Why am I calling Cas Will? Why did an image of Ketch pop into my mind for a sec? What the fuckin’ hell is goin’ on here?” Dean demanded from inside his head, unable to ask the questions aloud._ ) Casting a furtive glance toward the Manor, Jacob takes a step closer, leaning in to say quietly, “I will require a bath and evening meal in my room. After you’ve seen to the horse, please arrange the meal and start filling the tub. Unless you don’t want to. You can always send someone else to tend me in your stead. Not… not the same way, of course. I just meant… you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. But… if you do want to, wake me when the bath is ready.” (“ _Holy shit! Am I_ flirting? _With_ Cas? _We really should’ve done more research before coming here. This is_ not _good.” Dean worried._ )

“I will wake you when your bath is ready,” Will replies softly, swallowing and struggling to keep the blush from his cheeks. If Madam Norris ever finds out what her son is doing, they will both be hung. (“ _Did I just see an image of Mary?” Cas wondered briefly._ ) Well, perhaps not Master Norris. As the only remaining child, he is too valuable to her. Will, however, he’s just a stable-hand, and there are plenty of others who can care for horses. Someone older, maybe married, less likely to catch the young master’s fancy. Less likely to love Jacob, heart and soul, and fill more than the needs of his body. Someone not ready to give their life to keep him safe or willing to give their heart to keep him happy. Of course, Master Norris will eventually have to marry, Will muses as he leads Chestnut to the stables, looking for Thomas. And our private times together will have to stop. But I can still be there for him; give him everything else he needs. (“ _Why am I picturing… that is not something I have_ ever _done with Dean. This is… alarming. Not that I haven’t thought about-” Cas interrupted his thoughts right there. It was neither the time nor place for that._ )

Jacob stands for a moment, watching Will lead Chestnut off and trying not to think about the firm posterior concealed beneath his dark breeches, or the muscles, the lean strength, coiled beneath his coarse off-white shirt and brown hide vest. Remembering himself, Jacob schools his expression to that of a man making sure his horse is being treated well, and turns back toward the manor. It is a good thing he took the precaution; his mother stands at the parlor window, tea in hand, watching him with narrowed eyes. (“ _Wait, that’s not his mom, that’s_ my _mom,” Dean thought, confused._ ) Acknowledging his mother’s gaze with a nod, Jacob heads into the Manor and directly to his room for a nap. He’s been hunting since very early this morning, when a messenger from the village had arrived to beg his assistance, informing him the infamous buck had returned. The town’s safety is his responsibility, and not just financially. His father founded this settlement and after his death, the job of keeping it safe and prosperous has fallen to Jacob. The water in the basin on his bureau is chilly; despite the mid-day sunshine, the late autumn air is crisp and cold. Jacob quickly washes the residual dirt, gunpowder, and blood from his hands, then strips down to his undershirt and climbs under the heavy quilts covering his bed.

 

8*****8*****8*****8*****8

 

“I don’t like this plan,” Sam grumbled while turning the key in the ignition as Jack climbed into the impala, thrilled at getting to ride in the front seat for once.

“They will be okay. We should begin research quickly. Do you think the sheriff will let us into the library?” Jack asked after buckling up.

“If we ask and he says no, then when we break in he’s gonna think it’s us,” Sam sighed, heading back toward town.

“If we don’t ask, we will have to wait for nightfall before starting research,” Jack pointed out.

“Fair point. I guess we might as well try,” Sam conceded.

A half hour later, they were seated inside the dusty library, looking through the earliest newspapers and local history books they could find. Fortunately, the power was still on in the small, old building. The sheriff said it was because town records were stored there too, and the fire suppression system needed electricity. Plus, if he or his deputy needed to look something up, it was easier to read when there were lights that actually came on when they flipped a switch.

Which was why Sam was able to scroll through microfilm after microfilm on the overhead projector, looking for old newspaper articles that offered any hint about what might be going on here, or even when it started. Coming to an article of the town’s centennial celebration a few hours later, he paused and read more closely. “Hey, so get this,” Sam said to Jack, who looked up from the book on the Illinois territory he was reading through. “Norris is rumored to have been founded by a prominent family from New York. However, the only remaining evidence of their influence is the name inherited from them. Legend has it that the Norris family oversaw the functioning and growth of the village from an opulent manor house several miles outside of town. No one has ever found physical evidence to support this, and none of the rumors explain the disappearance of the founding family. Perhaps by the bicentennial we’ll have an answer to the mystery of the town’s origins, but for now there are no answers, only the appreciation that, however it happened, our town was born and remains,” he read.

“Could the missing people be tied to that founding family?” Jack asked.

“Could be. It’s weird that no one’s ever found where the house is or was. Even it it was destroyed, it would still have left behind evidence; stone foundation, cellar, ironwork from a fence or door. We should try to find likely locations on a map. If it’s related to the missing people, there might be some clue at the house about what’s going on.”

“There are maps of the area in the town records,” Jack suggested as he resumed skimming the thick book he’d been working on.

“Right. I’m gonna grab more coffee and some dinner first. I think we have a long night ahead of us,” Sam grumbled, heading out to hit the diner.

“I’d like nougat,” Jack said absently before the door closed behind Sam.

 

9*****9*****9*****9*****9

 

“Master Norris, your supper is ready,” Will says quietly in a low, gravelly voice. Placing a hand lightly on Jacob’s shoulder, Will’s muscles grow tense, ready to jump back if his master wakes swinging. (“ _Not good. If Dean and I don’t get out of here, we’re going to wind up… If that happens, he’ll never forgive me,” Cas worried from inside his mind._ )

“ ‘S the door locked?” Jacob mumbles curling deeper under the warm quilts with a reluctant sigh. (“ _Cas? That was Cas’s voice. Turn over and look at him, idiot, I wanna make sure,” Dean grumbled internally._ )

“Yes, sir,’ Will replies, stepping back and waiting for the master to rise.

“Then why are you calling me ‘Master Norris’ and ‘sir’?” Jacob yawns, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

“Sorry, Jacob,” Will smiles, stepping closer until his lover grabs his wrist, pulling him onto the bed and into a deep, warm kiss. (“ _Dean. Lips. This is very wrong, no matter how much I’ve wanted it,” Castiel thought with an unheard whimper._ )

Settling Will securely in his lap, Jacob proceeds to shower him with affections, delving deep into the moist cavern of his mouth, tasting the shape of his teeth and feeling the velvet heat of his tongue. As they kiss, a hand roams Will’s body, tracing the planes of lithe, firm muscle through the coarse cloth of his shirt. (“ _Ok, yeah, definitely Cas. Shit. He’s gonna kill me. Might be worth it though,” Dean thought with an inward grin._ ) “My Will. You are so... perfect,” Jacob murmurs against soft, chapped lips.

“My master. You are so... likely to complain about the tepid food if you don’t get up and eat,” William grins, squirming off Jacob’s lap and heading over to the low bench he’s placed before the hearth. Will moves the large arm chair closer so that Jacob can warm by the fire while he eats, much as the pails of water for the coming bath are currently warming.

Stretching, Jacob pulls himself out of bed, inhaling a deep breath smelling of stewed meats, carrots and potatoes. Thomas must not have finished skinning and butchering the deer yet. Cook will have to work late helping prepare and preserve the meat. (“ _Did he just picture Charlie? Is Charlie the cook?” Dean wondered._ ) “Where’s your bowl?” Jacob asks as he sits. 

“You know servants aren’t allowed to eat with-”

“Will. When we are alone in this room, we are no longer master and servant,” Jacob sighs, pulling his lover into his lap. “We’ll share.”

For a few moments, Will struggles to find an argument Jacob will listen to, then gives up, knowing how stubborn the man is. “As you like,” he says instead, reaching over for the stew. They wind up taking turns feeding each other, licking broth and fresh churned butter off one another’s fingers. When desire inevitably overtakes the need for food, there’s only a little stew left in the bowl, and Jacob has just popped the last bite of bread into Will’s mouth. As he moans around the soft, warm, buttery treat -servants never get bread right after it’s been baked-, Jacob enjoys a treat of his own, kissing his way down Will’s neck to nip lightly over his collar bones. “You mustn’t leave any-”

“I know,” Jacob interrupts. “How long have we been doing this? I would never endanger you like that,” he soothes. (“ _Holy shit, this can’t be real. Tell me this isn’t real. It’s a dream. We stepped through the magic barrier into a djinn dream. That’s gotta be it. That Will, who looks just like Cas, that’s not really Cas. It’s a dream. A representation of my subconscious desire or some shit like that. Cas isn’t really here; he’s in a dream of his own somewhere. He’ll never know. He’ll never have to hate me,” Dean thought fervently even as his heart raced at the thought of finally getting to touch Cas._ ) 

“Sorry, I know that. I just also know how easy it is for me to forget myself and wanted to remind us both that we cannot allow our desires free rein. No matter how much we may want to,” Will rasps. (“ _Dean, I’m so sorry. I have no control over my actions. Please don’t hate me; I swear, no matter how much I’ve wanted this, I would stop it if I could,” Cas thought uselessly._ )

“We should run away together. Find a nice, secluded, woodland and build ourselves a cabin. No responsibilities, no nosy family, no neighbors to hear me whimper and beg for you,” Jacob sighs wistfully as his hands pull Will’s shirt free to roam the warm, firm flesh beneath.

Shuddering at the light touches, Will gives his lover a soft, sad smile. “You have responsibilities here. You are the sole heir, you can’t-”

“Responsibilities be damned. I don’t care for any of that, as long as you are with me. You are what matters,” Jacob retorts in a harsh whisper then kisses away the sting of the heated words. “Please, love, this time is for us. Can we not forget the world beyond this room, just for a night?”

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” Will replies, pulling Jacob’s hands from their exploration as he slides off his lap, drawing his lover up from the chair with him. “Allow me to make it up to you?”

Grinning, Jacob raises his arms expectantly, arching an eyebrow pointedly.

Shaking his head with a chuckle, Will gently pulls the long shirt over Jacob’s head. “You keep telling me not to call you master, yet still expect me to tend you?” (“ _I have to keep calm. This isn’t really Dean. Technically, it’s not me, either. True, I wish it was us, but Dean never has to know that. If he’s conscious in there, and if we remember this once Sam and Jack get us out of here, of course he’ll know this wasn’t my choice any more than it was his. He’ll forgive me and tell me to never speak of it again. And I’ll at least have this memory. I hope,” Cas consoled himself, coming to the firm resolve to just let this happen._ )

“Only because I know how much you love doing it.”

“I do,” Will replies. Much as he had the first time they’d somehow fallen together, his eyes linger over the freckle-speckled skin as each inch is exposed. Unlike that first time, when he was just filling in for the servant who normally helped Master Norris with his bath, this time he knows his appreciative gaze is not only allowed but wanted. Tossing the shirt onto the vacated chair blindly as his eyes drink their fill, his hands follow the trail blazed by his gaze, fingers ghosting over hips, up waist, around back, smoothing over shoulder blades to pull Jacob closer. Lips finding the juncture at the base of the neck, Will noses and nips at the heated flesh as his ears devour the muted sounds of pleasure that slip past where Jacob pinches his lower lip between his teeth. When the whimpers begin to grow loud, Will kisses his way up Jacob’s neck and along his jaw, pausing to soothe a lick over the chewed lip before pressing in for a deep, muffling kiss.

Jacob moans into Will, tongue gliding against the one that invades his mouth and claims every corner. Truly, the beautiful man has conquered him long ago, but seems to delight in affirming his dominion anew, in every stolen moment together.

Tongue delving into Jacob’s mouth, Will guides him slowly to the end of the bed where he pushes his lover down to sit on the edge of the mattress and drops to his knees between Jacob’s legs. “May I?” he asks, stormy blue gaze focused up on his love’s face, demanding permission.

“Please,” Jacob breathes, cock twitching in anticipation.

With a smile that wrinkles the corners of his eyes, Will leans in to lick slowly around the head, tongue teasing under the ridge and over the slit. Lips sliding over the long, firm cock, Will wriggles his tongue against the underside as his mouth glides down, down, down to the base until he’s nosing at the field of light, wiry hair surrounding the hard length. ( _Mentally whimpering, Cas revels in the feel of Dean in his mouth. Though he knows the one reacting to this is Jacob, not Dean, he can’t help imagining how it would be if it was._ ) Smiling around the heated flesh, Will watches Jacob’s face as he loses himself in the pleasure, subconsciously twitching into his mouth as his hips refuse to stay still. Will allows it, loving when Jacob gets like this, lost to everything but the heat burning through him and the the worshipful ministrations.

“Will… that’s so good, love. So good. So close,” Jacob whimpers softly.

Pulling off, Will grins up at his love, who whimpers at the cessation when he was so close. Rising, he drags Jacob up, placing his lips beside the man’s ear, speaking in a breathy whisper that he knows drives his lover wild. “Would you not rather come together, with me inside you?” 

“You know me so well,” Jacob smiles as he removes Will’s clothes.

“Inside and out,” Will smirks, pushing his master onto the bed and crawling after him. Lithe and predatory, he takes his time mouthing up the inside of Jacob’s leg, careful not to leave any proof of his possession, though he wishes he could. Worshipping the firm muscle and heated planes of Jacob’s body, he climbs his master slowly, fingers relearning the shape of him, lips and tongue enraptured by his heady musk. 

Jacob moans, head thrown back into the pillows as he writhes beneath his love. (“ _Holy fucking hell, Cas! No, not Cas, Will. In Cas’s body. But Damn, it looks like Cas. Feels like Cas. Fuck. Why can’t I have this with Cas?” Dean thought._ )

As Will leisurely makes his way up Jacob’s body, soft whimpers of impatience and need make an encouraging backdrop to his enjoyment. He loves having his master writhing and pliant beneath him. Kissing his way over a firm abdomen and chest, Will finds a nipple and rolls it between his teeth, eliciting a low moan that turns to a soft growl as he inches his legs up further to rub their arousals together.

“Will, love, please don’t tease. I need you. Want to feel you inside me,” Jacob whispers, voice haggard with need. Part of him wants nothing more than to reverse their positions, flip Will onto the mattress and ride him hard until they’re both coming apart. But he doesn’t; won’t. Beyond the bedroom walls, Jacob is the master and must always behave as such, whether he wants to or not. Here, in the privacy of his own bedroom, Will is in charge and Jacob doesn’t have to think or worry, just take what Will gives him, give what he wants, and trust his love to guide them both.

“Patience, Jacob,” Will chides, tonguing over the nub he’d been teasing, then moving to the other. The way his lover moans and writhes beneath him is the greatest joy this world could ever hold and part of him wants to draw that out for the entire night. But it’s unlikely they’ll be granted that much time. The locked door keeps the servants out, but the mistress has no qualms about using her own key to open it if she feels her son needs checking on. “Stay,” Will instructs as he separates reluctantly to search his pockets for the small bottle of expensive olive oil that cook, their only confidant, had slipped him along with the dinner tray. Finding it, Will stands and looks back at the bed over his shoulder. Jacob has raised himself onto his elbows and is staring hungrily, tongue snaking out over his bottom lip. A soft smile creeps over Will’s features as warmth curls fierce and full in his chest. (“ _Oh! That look on Dean’s face. If only he would look at me like that when we were ourselves,” Cas thought, feeling his own chest swell and not with Will’s emotions._ ) Will’s arousal had waned at the thought of the mistress, but he is back to urgent need with just that one look. Returning to the bed, he kisses Jacob back down into the pillow, hungry and needy as he rocks against his love’s cock, swallowing the resulting moans as he fumbles blindly with the oil. Somehow, he manages to get the cap off and spill some onto his fingers without breaking the seal of their lips. But before he can bring those fingers to bear, that annoying practical part of his mind chirps up and he’s pulling away with a sighed groan. “Sorry, just one more minute,” he promises, setting the precious bottle of oil on the bedside table and careful not to drip any off his fingers as he heads to the wardrobe, 

“What’s wrong?” Jacob asks, concern pulling him onto his elbows again to watch the naked buttocks and tanned back presented as Will rummages through the wardrobe.

Grabbing a large towel one handed from beneath the hanging clothes, Will turns back to the bed and holds it up for Jacob to see. “Sorry, there’s no way i can smuggle your bedspread out and wash it,” he blushes, tossing the towel to his master who opens it and lifts his hips to slide it beneath. Will had been wondering just how many interruptions he could withstand before his body stopped trying, but the sight of Jacob’s strong legs braced on the bed, hips thrust into the air, back arching, has Will’s cock even more eager than before the interruption. Quick as a wink, he’s back between his lover’s legs, tongue licking up the underside of Jacob’s length before swirling over the head as an oiled finger finds its way to the hole twitching with anticipation and begging to be filled.

“Aah, Will! Yes!” Jacob calls out, biting a fist when the exclamation is louder than he’d intended.

“Volume, Jacob,” Will cautions, finger paused halfway in.

“Sorry, love. I’ll be more careful,” Jacob promises softly, putting his fist back in his mouth after speaking.

Smiling warmly, Will makes his way back up his lover, pulling the fist away to press their lips together once more. Mouths parting and tongues exploring, warm, moist, quiet moans are swallowed between them as Will’s finger begins to move, a second swiftly joining. “You’re so pliant for me, Jacob. Have you been touching yourself here?” he murmurs.

Cheeks reddening, Jacob looks away at first, but then forces himself to return the intense blue gaze staring directly into his soul and seeing everything laid bare. “Only when missing your touch drives me to distraction,” he admits. “Which is to say, every night I’m not exhausted enough to fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow.” (“ _Yeah, except my body’s the one that’s loose. Hey, it’s normal for a man to be curious. But hopefully, if that really is Cas in there, he doesn’t ask about it, ‘cause there’s no way in hell I’m tellin’ him I finger my ass in the shower imagining what it’d be like if he was the one who… Holy shit! I’m not gonna have to imagine anymore; I’ll be able to remember. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I want this so bad. I know it’s not him in that body, and that body’s not even Cas’s real body, but still… Fuck, Cas, I want you so bad,” Dean’s thoughts interrupted as his body moaned into Cas’s mouth, hips thrusting onto the fingers scissoring into him._ )

“Me too,” Will smiles. “I can’t touch myself with the others in the room, but I think of you every night the moment my eyes close; wake hard in the morning to dreams of being sheathed in your tight heat.” Adding a third finger, he thrusts them deeper, kissing Jacob passionately as he seeks and finds that spot that spikes lightning through his lover’s body, hips rising off the bed and causing their arousals to slide against each other. Swallowing cries of pleasure, Will rocks into the contact, giving a few more thrusts of his fingers before going for the same spot, eliciting an even more intense reaction.

“Will, love,” Jacob pants as he manages to tear his lips away, hands roaming the heated expanse of lithe, flexing muscles in Will’s back, “I can’t… Please, I need you inside,” he rasps, desire turning his velvet voice coarse.

“Yes, master,” Will teases warmly as his fingers slide out to slick over his cock before pressing the head against Jacob’s waiting opening, pushing lightly at the pucker as he pauses to capture his lover’s emerald gaze. “I love you,” he breathes, all his feelings welling up in his chest and flowing into the words as he slowly slides home, joining their bodies in the most intimate way they can, heedless of society or religion which call the act a sin. How can anyone possibly deny the validity of the love they share? Something so pure, so deep, so much a part of themselves, that neither could survive without the other? (“ _I know that feeling. Too bad Dean doesn’t share it with me. Will’s so lucky to have his love returned” Cas thought as he reveled in the feel of Dean’s heat squeezing tight around his cock. It was the most amazing thing he’d ever felt in all his eons of existence._ )

“Will,” Jacob moans, the breathy name falling holy from his lips. Legs wrapping high around Will’s waist to pull them closer, deeper, he slides a hand up to tangle in dark, wavy hair, pulling him down to Jacob’s desperately seeking lips. “I love you so much,” he murmurs before their mouths join in an endless kiss as Will begins rocking into him with long, deep thrusts. (“ _Holy shit, that feels so fucking amazing. I want this. I want this so bad. With Cas. Need him. Is he in there, somewhere, shoved out of the driver’s seat like me? God, if you’re in there, Cas, please don’t hate this. Or hate me,” Dean thought, mind blown with ecstacy at the feeling of Cas’s cock moving hot and hard inside him._ )

Tongues twining, lips sealed so firmly together the joining feels permanent, Will picks up his pace, gradually driving in faster with those long, so very deep strokes that claim every part of his lover and send shudders wracking through Jacob’s body as he hits that sweet spot over and over. His own pleasure is secondary, concentration focused on Jacob’s needs as he rocks into him, thrusting harder and deeper, increasing the volumes of the cries swallowed between them. 

Jacob is wrecked, blunt nails gripping deep into Will’s back, body tense with building pressure, though his ass still welcomes the thick, firm heat driving into him, pushing him toward that high unmatched by any other experience. Everything fades from existence beyond the blue pools floating above him, the strong tongue tangling with his, the strong body caging him against the mattress, and the magnificent cock thrusting into him endlessly, filling him like nothing and no one else ever could. He belongs to Will, heart, body, and soul, now and always. Barren though his soil may be, Jacob aches to feel his lover’s seed spill into him. He tries to free his lips to say so, but Will refuses to allow their kiss to break, and Jacob realizes he’s lost all ability to hold back his voice. Good thing one of them kept their head and is still actively trying to keep their illicit affair discreet. Unable to maintain the effort of thought past the thrumming haze of pleasure, Jacob gives up trying, trusting Will to carry him those last few steps to bliss.

The sturdy Oak bed frame doesn’t creak as Will’s pace increases further, pushing them both closer to orgasm, but it is scooting across the floor a bit. Cook is making plenty of noise in the kitchen as she prepares the venison, covering for them, but they still need to be more careful. Bodies pressed closely together, Will somehow manages to fit a hand between them, into the sweaty heat where Jacob’s throbbing length is trapped. Moisture makes the slide easy as he wraps a strong hand around Jacob’s cock, fisting it as he drives hard and deep, hitting that sweet spot with every thrust. Though Will knows his lover wants to speak, heap praises and pleas, cry out Will’s name, he keeps their mouths pressed firmly together, swallowing Jacob’s sounds as he adds a twist of his hand over the head to his strokes. Shuddering pleasure sweeps through the body beneath his with each hard thrust of Will’s hips and he can feel Jacob’s straining cock twitching with immanent release. Unable to relinquish the kiss muffling his lover’s voice, Will can only plead with his eyes, begging Jacob to come for him.

Gaze unfocused, Jacob stares up without seeing, only feeling the desperate need coursing through him, tensing his muscles and rushing him toward bliss. He can’t see the plea in Will’s eyes, but he feels it nonetheless. The hand stroking him, the heated length driving into him, and the weight of Will’s love pressing over him all come to a head at once. Suddenly, he’s spilling hot and spurting between them, cry of ecstasy driven into Will’s mouth as his vision whites out, whole body tensing, including the muscle squeezing around his love’s cock.

Whimpering as he swallows down the loud cry and feels the ring of muscle around him tighten, Will holds Jacob close, stroking him through his orgasm. When jacob’s loud cries fade into soft moans and his length is spent and limp between them, Will finally releases his lips. “You okay?” he whispers softly, wiping his hand on the towel beneath them before reaching up to brush a damp tendril of hair from Jacob’s forehead.

“Better than that,” Jacob grins. “But I thought we were supposed to come together?”

“Sorry, you’re just too distracting,” Will smiles back, eyes crinkling.

“I’ll be less distracting now. Keep going. I want to feel you fill me up,” Jacob requests, legs squeezing around his love’s waist in encouragement. His vision is starting to return, sparks of color floating against the backdrop of Will’s beautiful face, smiling softly down at him as he goes back to rocking his hips into Jacob’s twitching heat.

Pace building as he shifts focus to his own pleasure, Will throws his head back, eyes closed, as Jacob’s hands trace the planes of his body. Hips snapping with each deep thrust, Will shudders as his lover leans up onto an elbow to reach a hand into dark curls, nails scraping lightly over the shorter strands where hairline meets neck. 

“Will, come for me, love,” Jacob murmurs, sated voice velvet smooth. It’s not a demand, just a request, and Will must know that, because he lets a small gasp of pleasure escape, head snapping forward as his arms wrap around Jacob, pressing him back into the bed. 

Pushing in and out, one, two, three times Will finds himself spilling into that tight heat, waves of pleasure bursting out with every continued twitch of his hips. Trembling together, they hold each other so close it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. Laying like that, they allow themselves a few minutes together, just to be. But the mess between their stomachs grows sticky and Jacob’s heat is twitching around Will’s spent length so they reluctantly part with a sigh. Will cleans them both up as much as he can with the towel, careful to keep it between the quilt and Jacob’s buttocks, where Will’s seed is still sporadically pulsing out of Jacob’s hole. Almost before he’s done cleaning, his lover is pulling him up to lay together, sated and warm with afterglow.

 

10*****10*****10*****10*****10

 

Sam wished there was someone back at the bunker who could help do some research online, but everyone there was from the apocalypse world and none of them were very good with computers, other than Charlie, who’d been a computer genius before their world went to crap. She’d caught up with technology pretty quickly once they got to this world. Too bad she was one of the ones missing. It would have been nice to have someone with a decent internet connection looking over maps of the area online. Might be easier to spot discrepancies that way. But if wishes were horses, right? There was no point to useless thoughts, though they did help pass the time as he walked to the convenience store for Jack’s candy bar while he waited for their dinners to be finished. Snacks in one bag, meals in another, he headed back to the Library and they took a break to eat, comparing notes on what they’d come up with, which was basically nothing other than the article Sam had found.

“Maybe Dean and Castiel have found something?” Jack suggested around a mouthful of burger.

“Who?” Sam asked with a frown, thinking his brother’s bad habits must be rubbing off on Jack.

“Sam? You can’t have forgotten Dean. Your brother?” Jack prompted.

“Brother? My brother’s name isn’t Dean,” Sam replied with concern, wondering if maybe the research was too much strain on the poor kid. 

“Great. You’ve forgotten them, just like you’ve forgotten everyone else.”

“Forgotten who? What’re you talking about, Jack? I haven’t forgotten my brother.”

“Sam, you- If you haven’t forgotten your brother, then what is his name? And where is he right now?” Jack asked.

“Jack, don’t be ridiculous. Of course I haven’t forgotten. My brother’s name is… is… Ok, but I know he’s… he’s back at the bunker? Isn’t he?” Running a frustrated hand through his hair, Sam glared at the lamp’s shine on the polished library table, trying to remember.

“It’s okay, Sam, I remember them. I remember them all,” Jack said, jotting down a list of names that have almost no meaning to Sam as he reads the writing upside down from across the table. “Here,” Jack says, pushing the note across to Sam, “these are all the people who have gone missing. They-”

“What are you talking about? The only ones missing are Charlie and Bobby,” Sam interrupted.

“That’s what I was about to explain,” Jack replied, pulling the list back over and writing on the bottom as he spoke. “The missing people have all been forgotten except for the ones from apocalypse world.” Sliding the paper to Sam he explains the case, hopefully for the last time. “Charlie and Ketch were on a missing persons case. We forgot about Ketch, so your mother and- yes, your mother is back from heaven and hunting again- so Mary and Bobby went to find them, then Jody, Donna, and Claire went to find _them_ , and now you and I are researching while Dean and Castiel went to find the missing people and keep them safe. And if you’ve forgotten them, that probably means they found the right place.”

“And that means my brother’s in trouble,” Sam worried, struggling to remain calm and logical.

“But we still don’t know why people are going missing. We need to keep looking. There must be some information on what might be causing this. I’m worried about Dean too, and Castiel. But if we just go charging after them without knowing what’s happening and how to stop it, then we’ll all be lost and we don’t have any more backup. Sam, you and I have to solve this mystery if we want to have any hope of getting them back,” Jack counseled, the wisdom of ages belying his youth.

“You’re right,” Sam sighed, slumping back in his chair. “But what if they’re hurt? What if they’re…”

“Then I’ll bring them back. I’ve done it before; if I have to, I’ll do it again. But I think they’re okay. They all are. We just have to figure out how to rescue them.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. You remember where they went, right? Soon as we finish dinner we should start by looking up that location in the town archives,” Sam replied, shoveling chicken salad into his mouth quickly, in a rush to get back to research.

 

11*****11*****11*****11*****11

 

For a long time they just lay there, nestled into each other and enjoying the rare, stolen moments. Eventually, Will sighs and pulls away, standing and stretching, heedless of his nakedness.

“No, love, stay,” Jacob pleads, languidly reaching toward him.

“Relax, Master Norris, I only rose to get your bath ready,” Will chides as he goes to the fireplace where several metal pails are warming. 

“If you aren’t leaving, then don’t call me master,” Jacob reminds him pointedly.

“Sorry, Jacob. It’s reflexive when I’m working, and good that it is, too. Accidentally addressing you familiarly in front of your mother would be disastrous,” Will replies. Using a cloth to protect his hands, he lifts a pail easily, muscles flexing as it rises, held far from his bare body to avoid burns. Dumping it into the half-full tub, Will swirls the luke-warm water around, then goes for another pail. When all the pails have been added, the water is hot and the tub nearly full. Will scoops two pails of water back out, setting them beside the fire to keep heated.

Watching lazily from the bed, arms folded behind his head, Jacob enjoys the naked flex of muscles glistening with sweat in the firelight as his love works. When Will’s done, he returns to the bed, tugging an arm from under Jacob’s head to pull him up. Stumbling into his love intentionally, Jacob grins, pressing their lips together in a quick kiss. “You’re so sexy when you take care of me,” he murmurs, sliding his arms around Will’s waist. “Join me in the bath?” 

Giving a pointed look at the wooden tub then returning his gaze to Jacob, Will raises an eyebrow. “You really think two grown men will fit in there? And if we even tried, Cook would be furious when the overflow rained into her kitchen. No, you get in and relax. You said I’m sexy when I take care of you, and I want to be the sexiest you’ve ever seen,” Will smiles, eyes crinkling.

“Only if I can wash you after,” Jacob counters.

“Accepted,” Will says, leading him to the tub and helping him step in. 

“And you stay the night,” Jacob adds, once he’s settled into the hot water and Will has already started washing him.

“Jacob,” Will sighs, “you know I can’t do that. If your mother found out-”

“Damn my mother. My life is my own, not hers. Besides, you wake with the cock every morning anyway, you can be up and gone before she’s any the wiser.” (“ _Dean mentally snickered at Jacob’s word choice, though he knew the man meant rooster. He really was trying not to listen in on the couple’s private moments but it was kinda hard not to overhear when the words were technically for his own ears though meant for Will._ )

“It’s too dangerous. We can’t take the risk; it’s not worth it,” Wil replies.

“It’s not worth it to spend one night in the arms of my love? Will, that’s worth almost anything to me. I want you. I love you. And I need you together with me, always. Come away with me. We can go further west, or north, find a secluded area in the woods, build ourselves that cabin. Why not?”

“You can’t, Jacob. As I’ve said before, you have responsibilities here. There’s an entire town relying on you to keep them safe and prosperous. We can’t be selfish.”

“Will, love is selfish. It’s allowed to be. We’re allowed to be. What we have… the greatest sin would be denying it. You know we were meant to find each other; to have this love,” Jacob implores.

“Jacob, I’m not denying our love. I’m only saying we can’t put it before greater responsibilities.”

“You’re my greatest responsibility, Will. And if you say you want me to be responsible then I will. But only if you stay with me. Not just tonight, but always.”

“That’s not fair. You know I can’t deny you anything,” Will frowns, though it’s obvious he’s not really displeased as he gently massages soap into Jacob’s hair. ( _Cas had been trying to stay in the background during the intimate time, but he can’t help but feel an added affinity to Will. After all, Cas could never deny Dean anything either._ )

“Is that a yes then?” Jacob smiles.

“Of course. But you really must swear to do your duty and live up to your responsibilities.”

“As long as I am not forced to choose one or the other, I will do my duty to both you and the town.”

“Jacob, I love- spending time with you like this,” Will says before dunking his lover under the water to rinse the soap.

Coming up sputtering and laughing, Jacob pulls Will into the tub. Or at least, he tries to. Will throws a hand out to stop himself from plunging under. Jacob laughs even harder as water splashes out of the tub and Will gives him a glare.

“I swear you have a memory like a sieve. What did I tell you about getting water on the floor?” Will demands.

“Sorry, love, I just couldn’t resist,” Jacob grins, regret clearly absent.

“And when Cook goes on the warpath over the bathwater falling onto her venison, I won’t resist telling her whose fault it was,” Will grouses, pulling back from the tub. “The water’s gone cold. Time to get out,” he adds, holding up a towel for his lover. 

Jacob accepts the help, humming contentedly as Will dries him, then cinching his dressing gown before going to take a pail of hot water from beside the fire.

“What are you doing?” Will demands, attempting to take the heavy bucket from the master.

“Bathing you. Just relax, let me get the water ready,” Jacob replies, refusing to relinquish his hold.

“You don’t have to do that,” Will insists, hurrying over to grab the other pail of hot water while Jacob is distracted with his own bucket.

“I told you to let me,” Jacob says when he turns to see Will bringing the rest of the hot water.

“You aren’t used to this kind of work; I am,” Will points out.

“Used to it or not, it’s my turn to take care of you,” Jacob insists, pouring the hot water in and mixing it around. Though they shouldn’t need to reheat the bath again, he still dips two buckets out, just to keep the water level low enough, and sets them back by the fire, instructing Will to get in. Washing in silence for a while, he loves the moonlight falling softly through the window onto Will’s face, shadowing his closed eyes as he relaxes. Silvery light gives Will an ephemeral air that is breathtaking. “I feel as though I should be writing poetry to praise your perfection, but such learned words are beyond me,” Jacob smiles softly as he washes his love.

“I am not perfect, Jacob. I’m human and all humans are flawed, just as we were created to be,” Will insists, brushing his dripping fingers over Jacob’s cheek tenderly. _”What a convenient excuse,” Cas thought, all his own mistakes and flaws coming to mind to chastise him. “Too bad I’m not human. It would be nice if I could brush off my own failings so easily.”_

“Hey, I’m human too. Maybe my flawed eyes just don’t see your flaws,” Jacob grins.

“I thought you said you couldn’t compose poetry?” 

“I can’t. None of that rhymed.”

“Perhaps not, but it was still poetic,” Will smiles, dunking himself under the water to rinse off the soap.

“If you say so,” Jacob replies as he holds a towel out for Will, patting it over tanned skin tenderly. When Will reaches for his long shirt Jacob stops him, pulling one of his own out for his love to wear. “You’ve just cleaned yourself; why put on a dirty shirt when I have clean ones.”

“I can’t wear one of your shirts, that wouldn’t be-”

“Just for tonight then. A soft, clean shirt to go with a comfortable bed and warm body to share it with,” Jacob insists.

“You’re pretty bossy for someone who insists we’re equals when we’re alone,” Will complains half-heartedly as he holds his arms up for Jacob to help him into the shirt.

“Hey, I’m only bossy when you’re being a mule,” Jacob counters, taking off his dressing gown and pulling out a shirt for himself. Will helps him dress but moves away when Jacob goes to pull him to the bed.

“You promised you’d spend the night. Why are you getting dressed?” Jacob frowns, though the sight of Will, bent at the waist as he gathers his clothing makes it hard to maintain the expression. The only sight in the world better than his love’s bare ass is his adoring face looking down on Jacob when they couple. (“ _Two sights I hope stay with me for the rest of my life,” Dean thought, just as appreciative of the view as Jacob._ )

“I’m not getting dressed,” Will replies, straightening from the pile of clothes and turning back to Jacob, hands going behind his back.

“What are you hiding?”

“Something for you,” Will smiles, stepping closer. “If you want it.”

“If it’s from you, I’m sure I do,” Jacob grins back, closing the remaining distance between them. Will brings the item from behind his back, looping something over Jacob’s neck, and he looks down to see a small leather bag hanging from a string. “What’s this?” He asks, examining the pouch. It appears to be sewn closed, no opening, though he can feel several objects inside.

“It’s an Indian protection charm. Nadie taught me how to do it,” Will replies, heat suffusing his cheeks. Most times, he avoids mentioning anything relating to his upbringing. But Jacob knows Will was found as a young child by a tribe of natives who took him in and raised him as their own. And he and his adoptive sister have always been treated well here despite her obvious native origins. Besides, he wants Jacob to understand why this is important. “I know you don’t believe in native superstition, but I was hoping you’d wear it. Just for me; you don’t have to believe in it or anything, I just… I’ve felt uneasy lately, and would feel less so if you wore it.” 

“It’s beautiful. Did you make this yourself?” Jacob asks.

“I did. Do you… do you like it?”

“Very much.”

“You’ll wear it, then? And not take it off, not even for sleeping or bathing?” Will presses.

“Of course. And speaking of sleeping… the moon is heavy and the hour is late. Come to bed with me, love?” Jacob returns.

“Until the rooster’s cry, Jacob,” Will replies, letting his lover pull him toward the bed and tuck them both under the covers. Pressing close, he holds Jacob tight, some feral, untamed part of Will whispering to take what he can this night because there may not be another.

 

12*****12*****12*****12*****12

 

“Sam! I think I found something!” Jack exclaimed, taking the antique ledger over to the table and laying it open below the light.

“Where’d you find this?” Sam asked, frowning at the hand-written, leather-bound journal.

“In with the fiction, under a subsection on local legends and lore,” Jack replied, running a finger down the page. “It lists residents moving in or out of the settlement. The first entries are Joseph and Mary Norris with children Jacob, Jeremiah, and Millicent (Millie), dated June 11, 1787.”

“Norris. That must be the family who founded the village. Anything else listed for them?”

They both looked down the rows of names. “Look, here. Norris Manor, stablehand. It’s listed under employment for a Thomas Cartwright. And Hannah Smith, nursemaid. Lots more too. Stablehand, cook, servant, servant, gardener, servant, oh,” Jack stopped, brows furrowing. “Joseph Norris, deceased. Jeremiah Norris, deceased. Both on the same day, along with two more additions to Norris Manor, stablehand William Skysight and servant Nadie Dreamseer. There are several other deaths listed that day too, but none connected with Norris.”

“Maybe there’s something about that date in the archives?” Sam wondered, heading back to the section he’d been perusing before Jack called him over. 

“Looks like the daughter, Millie, died too, the following winter,” Jack commented as Sam looked through early town records.

“Oh, here’s something. April 22, 1797; town attacked by a band of thieves. Five townsmen killed before Master and Jeremiah Norris arrived. Native captives of the attackers freed by the young master turned the tide against the thieves, though Master Norris was lost in the fight and Jeremiah succumbed to his wounds not long after sunset. Natives, a brother and sister, given work at the Manor as thanks for their assistance,” Sam read from a large leather-bound book with no title, only the years 1787-1837 burned into the cover. 

“Natives? Does that mean Native Americans?”

“Yeah, that’s what they were called back then. Natives or Indians,” Sam replied, wondering why Jack was interested.

“Well, we know they were at the house; could one of them have caused whatever’s going on?” Jack suggested. “Native Americans have knowledge and abilities they don’t share with outsiders.”

“That’s a good question. How about you keep looking into the Norrises, I’ll see what I can dig up on Native American spells. If you find any mention of a tribe for those siblings, let me know. Would definitely help narrow down my search.”

 

13*****13*****13*****13*****13

 

“Up! Wake, you godless devil! You heathen!” Mary Norris’s voice spits, fury storming from her lips as the stable-boy sits bolt upright in bed. She’s already yanked her son from the nest of sin, anger giving her muscles the strength of a bull and her grip the firmness of iron.

Will is used to waking quickly, but the matron’s voice has him fully alert much faster than ever before. A small corner of his brain notices the darkness outside the window; still night, though the low-hanging moon indicates impending dawn. Most of his focus, however, is on the trembling pistol Madam Norris has trained on him. 

“Mother! Put that down! What are you doing?” Jacob demands, the pain of his mother’s iron grip keeping him on his knees beside her. He has no memory of waking, or of his mother entering. All he knows is he was sleeping, warm and secure in the arms of his love, and then he was here, dragged from bed and kneeling on the hard wooden floor.

“I will do no such thing. This is not a man. It is a demon, come from hell to tempt you away from your duty and lead you to eternal damnation. You are under that devil’s thrall, but I will not let him destroy you! Jacob, take the gun; kill that creature,” Mary Norris demands.

“To kill him would be to kill myself. I love him, mother. And I will not live without him. I will fulfill my duty to the town and this estate, but only with Will by my side and if you can not accept that, then go find an orphan to adopt,” Jacob replies passionately.

“Son, the evil has taken your mind. If you won’t destroy it, then I will!” Madam Norris levels the gun at the stable-boy, steadies her hand, and squeezes the trigger. (“ _Wait! No, that’s Castiel you homophobic, hypocritical bitch! Stop already! How many times are you planning to kill your son’s boyfriend just because you’re either too blind to see or just don’t care how happy they are together?” Mary’s mind shouted silently from where she was tucked away inside her body, which Mrs. Norris controlled._ ) Destroying the unworthy beast is no different than shooting skunks that wander too close to the manor. 

“No!” Jacob shouts, ripping free of his mother’s grasp, heedless of the rake of her nails on his skin or the blood that wells there and drips from his wrist. And caring not a whit for the bullet speeding toward his back. (“ _Cas! No! Please don’t be in there! You shouldn’t have to see this!” Dean cried in his mind, though he had a strong suspicion that Cas was there just as much as Dean was. And just as helpless._ )

“Jacob, don’t!” Will screams, horror dawning on his face as he realizes he’s neither fast enough, nor close enough, to save his lover. His master. His heart. (“ _Dean! No, you idiot, please! You can’t die!” Cas begged. He knew the plea was useless, but he didn’t think he could survive having to watch Dean die._ )

“Stop!” Madam Norris shreeks, eyes widening in horror as her only remaining son steps into the path of her bullet. (“ _Oh, God, I hope he doesn’t feel it,” Mary worried._ )

Time slows. Jacob-Dean and Will-Cas stare at each other, wide eyes filled with love and sorrow as the bullet burrows into Master Norris’s back, pushing him the last few inches to the bed and Will’s waiting arms. Brilliant light flashes between them, the protection pouch around Jacob’s neck rising into the air. Expanding outward, the light washes color from the room until everything goes completely white and the lovers know nothing save the feel of their hands clasped around each other’s wrists, the slowing pulses beating beneath skin, copper tang of blood somehow permeating the airless space…

 

14*****14*****14*****14*****14

 

“Welcome back, Master Norris!” Will exclaims, pulling his hand away quickly and clasping it behind his back. Why in heaven’s name had he touched the master in plain view of the manor? (“ _We’re back to where we started,” Castiel mused. “Dean! He’s okay, right? He’s in there?” he worried, using as much of his angel senses as he could access to see if Dean’s soul was in his body, make sure he was intact._ ) “Was the hunt successful? Shall I take your horse, sir?”

“It went well enough. I daresay that buck will keep the manor fed for a bit.” (“ _Shit. What happened? Wait a minute, this is what was goin’ on when we first got here. Are we back at the beginning of the day? Cas! Is Cas ok?” Dean worried._ ) “And more importantly, he won’t be wandering into the village anymore,” Jacob Norris replies with a wink, his back to the Manor house as he bestows a fond smile on the stable-boy, who can no more be called a boy than Jacob himself can. 

( _Unable to communicate with each other or alter the actions of the men controlling their bodies, Dean and Cas had no choice but to repeat the day._ )

 

15*****15*****15*****15*****15

 

“You boys still here? Feds must pay hella overtime for you guys to be workin’ this hard,” The sheriff’s voice called over the light tinkle of the bell on the door.

Jack looked up from his book and Sam’s head shot up off the table where he’d fallen asleep. “It’s an urgent case. Time is of the essence,” Sam said, blinking sleep from his eyes.

“Urgent? I thought you were looking into some old… old… what was it?”

“Missing persons cases. And yeah, those’re old, but we had some agents looking into them and those agents have gone missing too. We’re hoping we can solve this and find our colleagues,” Sam explained.

“Don’t remember you mentionin’ about missin’ FBI. Anythin’ I can do to help?” the sheriff asked.

“I think we’ve got it covered,” Sam replied, trying to find where he was in the book when he’d dozed off.

“A’ight. Well, I guess you know where to find me if you want help, right?”

“Yes Sheriff, thank you,” Jack replied, giving the man a bright smile that ushered him out the door.

“Sorry, Jack, I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” Sam apologized once the chime of the bell died out.

“No, it’s okay. You needed sleep. And I slept too,” Jack replied, closing his book and setting it aside.

“Have you found anything else?”

“I checked through both ledgers and there was no mention of the Norris family after October 11, 1799 when Jacob Norris killed a buck that had been bothering the town. And no information on which tribe the Native Americans were from, though there weren’t many left in this area at the time. There was a war between nations for over a hundred years that decimated the Illinois tribes. Why do humans wage war? It seems so pointless,” Jack frowned, brows furrowed.

“It usually is, but that’s a pretty big can of worms we don’t have time for right now,” Sam shrugged. “I haven’t found anything that causes a person or place to be forgotten, though similar spells can have very different effects from one tribe to another. Not to mention that who casts it and who it’s cast on makes a difference. And it might not be a spell at all; it could be a charm of some sort. This is pointless,” Sam huffed, pushing a hand through his hair.

“We should eat. Maybe we can do better after we have food in us?” Jack suggested.

“Yeah, guess you’re right. C’mon, I think we both need a change of scenery,” Sam replied, chair stuttering across the floor as he scooted back abruptly and stood.

“Relax, Sam, Dean will be okay. We’ll find them,” Jack said optimistically as he followed Sam to the door.

“Who’s Dean?”

 

16*****16*****16*****16*****16

 

...

“It’s beautiful. Did you make this yourself?” Jacob asks.

“I did,” Will replies. “Do you… do you like it?”

“Very much.”

“You’ll wear it, then? And not take it off, not even for sleeping or bathing?” Will presses.

“Of course. And speaking of sleeping… the moon is heavy and the hour is late. Come to bed with me, love?” Jacob returns.

“Until the rooster’s cry, Jacob,” Will replies, letting his lover pull him toward the bed and tuck them both under the covers. Pressing close, he holds Jacob tight, some feral, untamed part of Will whispering to take what he can this night because there may not be another.

( _Yesterday, Dean slept when his body did, but this time he managed to stay conscious after Jacob and Will went to sleep. He couldn’t help wondering if Cas was awake too, trapped inside his head, same as Dean. Vague memories of Sam’s description of the ‘Terrible Tuesdays’, as Sam called his Groundhog Day-esque experience, spurred the notion that they had to get out of this loop. True, if Dean was gonna spend his life living one day over and over again, this wasn’t one he’d get tired of. Well, no, if it was really Cas then yeah, definitely. Except it wasn’t Cas, it was Will. And Will wasn’t making love to Dean, he was making love to Jacob. Besides, the day ended with Dean-Jacob getting shot. Dean would gladly give his life a thousand times over to save Cas, but not if Cas had to watch him die. The look in the Angel’s eyes… Yeah, that had been Will’s consciousness in shock and horror watching Jacob die, but part of Dean just knew Cas was in there too and hating the scene almost as much. He and Cas weren’t together, but they were as close as two people could be without being lovers or blood and Dean was pretty sure watching Dean die hurt Cas as much as watching the angel die last year had hurt Dean. Sure, they knew now that the day would just restart, but still… There was no way Dean could stand seeing that look on Cas’s face even one more time._ )

( _While Will fell asleep with Jacob wrapped in his arms, Castiel stayed awake enjoying the feel of holding Dean, even if it wasn’t quite Dean. After all, his soul was still there, glowing brightly. The only difference was that another soul resided in the same vessel, its glow a different shade and not quite as bright, but still warm and pleasant. In addition, the leather bag around their body’s neck gave off its own glow, small but sharp with the intensity of Will’s love bound into it. That amulet was obviously the cause of whatever time loop spell was at work within the magic barrier. Castiel was almost certain all the missing people, both past and present, were here. Yesterday he’d talked with Ketch/Thomas and Cook/Charlie, and been shot at by Mary/Madam Norris. Today, Castiel had paid more attention to the other people around the manor. He’d seen one of the missing women and Claire hanging laundry out to dry and spotted Donna and Jody harvesting vegetables in the huge garden, dresses and aprons streaked with dirt. Bobby was repairing the roof of the barn and several more people Cas didn’t know were helping him. Others were tending chickens and cows, carrying buckets of water, walking or riding horses. Will, of course, didn’t have interest in any of these people so Cas was only granted glimpses. He could only positively match the one unfamiliar face to one of the missing persons cases Charlie and Ketch had originally come to investigate, but the likelihood of them all being here was high. As Will was taking water upstairs for the bath, Cas found Ketch_ (stablehand, Thomas, Will’s mind had supplied), _cleaned up and in his Sunday best, heading toward the library_ (where Madam Norris would surely have been waiting for him). _So apparently everyone was here, safe, and alive. That was good. Now they just needed to figure out how to get everyone out. Since the magic seemed to be tied to the leather pouch Will gave to Jacob, the logical answer would be to destroy it, or prevent Will from giving the gift. Of course, there were two major problems with that solution. Firstly, communication only seemed to go one way. Castiel experienced everything Will did and was able to call up some of his thoughts and memories. Will, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be aware of Cas at all, nor did he realize he wasn’t in his own body. There didn’t seem to be any way for Castiel to influence Will’s actions. Secondly, even if it were possible to destroy the amulet, doing so might not stop Jacob-Dean from getting shot. Neither Cas nor Will would allow that. But, though he wasn’t very well versed on human magics, Castiel suspected this wasn’t the way the protection charm was meant to work. And Sam and Jack probably wouldn’t be able to break it from outside. That meant it was up to him or Dean to find a way to fix this._ )

 

17*****17*****17*****17*****17

 

“Up! Wake, you godless devil! You heathen!” Mary Norris’s voice spits, fury storming from her lips. (“ _Please, you have to stop this! How long has it been going on, the same day over and over? Enough already! Respect your son’s choices!” Mary Winchester begged, unheard._ )

Will bolts upright, focus on the trembling pistol Madam Norris has trained on him. (“ _There must be a way to stop this. Dean’s already died more than enough in his life. I can’t let him be condemned to an eternity of dying every day.”_ )

“Mother! Put that down! What are you doing?” Jacob demands, the pain of his mother’s iron grip keeping him on his knees beside her. (“ _Dammit, no!” Dean balked, seeing Cas through Jacob’s eyes. Will seemed calm, resigned. Even so, Dean could swear he saw pain deep in those familiar blue eyes, and he’d be damned if he was just gonna sit back and let Cas go on hurting. But what could he do?_ )

“I will do no such thing. This is not a man. It is a demon, come from hell to tempt you away from your duty and lead you to eternal damnation. You are under that devil’s thrall, but I will not let him destroy you! Jacob, take the gun; kill that creature,” Madam Norris demands. (“ _Like you give a rat’s ass about him being a boy. You’re more upset that he’s a stablehand who was raised by Indians and can’t give you grandchildren of ‘status’ and ‘breeding’ to carry on the Norris name.” Mary thought vehemently. “Though it’s perfectly fine for_ you _to be screwing the help._

“To kill him would be to kill myself. I love him, mother. And I will not live without him. I will fulfill my duty to the town and this estate, but only with Will by my side and if you can not accept that, then go find an orphan to adopt,” Jacob insists. (“ _Cas! Cas, no! I can’t let this happen again. I don’t want you watching me die,” Dean cried, the sound unheard by anyone but himself._ )

( _Castiel could only watch, desperate to stop this but unable to do more than wordlessly plead for Dean to do something._ )

“Son, the evil has taken your mind. If you won’t destroy it, then I will!” Madam Norris levels the gun at the stable-boy... 

(“ _Jacob! Hey, snap outta it, man. You either gotta find a different way to stop that bullet, or let me have the wheel, ‘cause this ain’t happenin’ again.”_ )

...steadies her hand…

(“ _Fuckin’ move, dammit! The gun’s right there! Knock it away, tackle her, do_ something, _anything, just make sure neither of you has to watch the other die!_ )

...and squeezes the trigger.

“No!” Jacob shouts, ripping free of his mother’s grasp, heedless of the rake of her nails on his skin or the blood that wells there and drips from his wrist. Barreling into her raised arm, he knocks the gun off kilter before the bullet exits the muzzle. Seconds later, there’s a tearing thud as the bullet rips through blankets to imbed itself in Jacob’s mattress, inches from Will’s knee.

Time slows and blue-white light erupts from the protection charm around Jacob’s neck, color gradually bleached from the room by the expanding brilliance. Jacob, Will, Mary, furniture, walls, floor, all disappearing into grey outlines, broken like a charcoal sketch and fading to graphite…

( _“No, no, no, no, no!” Dean’s thoughts screamed. “We stopped it. We changed it. We_ fixed _it. This isn’t right; it’s supposed to be over!_ ) Ignoring his mother’s shocked silence, Jacob runs to Will in the blinding white, landing in his lap on the bed and throwing his arms around Will’s shoulders. They’re pressed so closely together that the sobs wracking Jacob’s body echo through his love’s. 

Will’s arms slip around Jacob’s waist, pulling him even closer, both grasping desperately to stay in the moment. In this fractured second of time where they are both alive, together and whole. (“ _I don’t understand. The protection charm shouldn’t have activated when Jacob didn’t get shot. Why hasn’t this ended?” Cas wondered._ )

Giving a final, blinding pulse, light engulfs the world in white and breaths are held, waiting for the restart.

 

18*****18*****18*****18*****18

 

“Are you _sure_ this is the right way?” Sam asked for the third time. The barely visible tracks they followed were made even harder to see in the dark, illuminated only by their two flashlight beams. Branches and undergrowth snatched at their clothing, scratched at their skin, as they tried to navigate.

“Yes, Sam. It’s hard to see in the dark, but I am certain it was this way. Jody’s truck should be just a little way up ahead,” Jack replied, pausing to shine the light through the foliage obscuring the trail. There might’ve been a glint off of white or silver in the distance, but before it even fully registered, Jack dropped the beam back to the ground so he could keep moving. 

Continuing forward in silence, they eventually found the line of cars and followed it more easily to the clearing where Jack put a hand out to stop Sam, same as Castiel had done to Dean, though neither of them knew about that so there was no one to appreciate the parallel. “What’s up, Jack?”

“Something feels weird,” he replied, brows creased, lips slack. “I don’t think we should go forward any further. We should do it from here.”

“Right. Hope this works,” Sam replied, making sure the words were clear on both sides of the board and the rope was tied to it securely. Not having found any way to fix whatever was going on, they’d found a two foot square piece of plywood and painted on both sides of it it: 

Native American magic  
Break from inside  
Or follow rope out

There was no way to say for sure if it would even get to them, let alone whether it’d be any help. Sam just hoped it didn’t hit anyone when they tossed it in. Before that though, he went back to the nearest car and tied the rope securely inside the front tire around the axel, hoping whatever magic there was wouldn’t just pull the whole car in.

Testing the knot, Jack tugged on the rope, smiling at Sam and nodding when the knot held. “This seems like it will work,” he enthused, sharing a bit of his optimism.

“Let’s hope so,” Sam replied as he grabbed the rope near the end, swung the board around a few times to gain speed and momentum, then tossed it as far as he could into the clearing. “This is the only plan we’ve got.

 

19*****19*****19*****19*****19

 

“Master Norris,” Will said, sound first to return as the light faded, color slowly seeping back into the world.

Blinking, Castiel looked up at Dean as sight returned. Dean was straddling his lap, squinting down at him in the fading light, arms still around his shoulders, Cas’s still locked desperately around his waist.

“Please, love, never call me that again,” Jacob whispered, arms releasing Will’s shoulders to slide his hands up to the other man’s face, tracing a thumb gently over Will’s cheek.

“Jacob,” Will smiled softly, leaning into his touch. “My heart.”

Dean stared incredulously at Cas for a moment, then slowly turned his head to the right. Beside him was a man with copper-brown hair that fell below his shoulders, ending in loose curls that dangled across his back and below a pale face set with beautiful features and a light smattering of freckles. Thick, dark lashes framed hazel-green eyes that gazed down at the face his thumb was stroking over. The lap he straddled belonged to a lightly tanned man with shorter, wavy black hair and striking blue eyes. Looking back at Cas, Dean realized they no longer had an excuse to be sitting like that and started to get up, but Cas’s arms refused to let him go.

“Sorry,” Castiel said gruffly, finding his voice after the past two days of being mute. “I didn’t mean to- sorry,” he added, releasing Dean quickly and holding his hands up as if afraid Dean might shoot him.

Getting up reluctantly, Dean stood and took one of Cas’s raised hands to help him out of the bed. “Hey, no worries. It’s been an odd couple days,” he replied, then turned his attention on the men still sitting on the bed. “Jacob and Will?”

“Yes,” Will replied, cheeks pinking. “Sorry about… We had no control. We’ve been living that same day for so long, never able to do anything differently.”

“Hey, yeah, it’s-” Dean paused, because he’d been about to say fine and that definitely wasn’t the right word. Great. Amazing. Wish fulfillment of the best kind. But for Cas… sneaking a glance sideways he found Cas about as easy to read as usual. Which was pretty much not at all. “Like you said, couldn’t be helped. We’re the ones who barged into your little time loop without a proper plan.”

“And you have my eternal thanks for that. If your voice hadn’t prompted me, I never would have been able to change the outcome and find our happy ending,” Jacob replied with a smile like sunshine.

“No! I forbid it!” a shrill, haughty voice exclaimed, and Dean and Cas turned to see an older woman with silver-grey hair pulled into a tight bun, wrinkles deep around her pursed lips and dark, angry eyes. She wore the same black velvet dress that had been on Mary Winchester, and still had a grip on the antique pistol which she pointed toward Will again.

“Oh, give it a rest, you bitter old bat,” Mary said, striding over and taking the gun from her age-worn hand. “You haven’t even reloaded. And I’ve been in your head, hearing your thoughts you hypocrite. Using something you don’t even really believe as an excuse to try to force your son to marry someone of your choosing because you don’t think a stablehand is good enough for him, when you’re perfectly fine with screwing another stablehand yourself. Why not let them be happy? Just because you were forced into marriage doesn’t mean your son should be condemned to the same fate. Damn, it feels good to finally be able to say that!”

The men all laughed at Mary’s spirited lecture, and even more at the indignant expression on Mary Norris’s face.

“So, what now?” Dean asked, looking around the room and noticing their only light was the pre-dawn glow coming in through the window. The fire in the grate had been low when they got woken up, but it was completely out now, not even glowing embers left. Not only that, but the lantern Mary had brought into the room with her was also out, the candle inside nothing more than a hard puddle of wax.

“We should find the others,” Cas suggested, and everyone except Mrs. Norris agreed.

“Do what you like. I’m going to my room,” she huffed, striding out the door, head high, a hand on the wall to help guide the way to her bedroom as she tried not to stumble down the hall in the dim light.

Going through the house, they found the servants’ rooms and woke those who hadn’t already roused when an unexpected person appeared beside them. By the time everyone was up and gathered, except the madam, the house had gotten quite cold, chill drafts blowing through the common room where everyone huddled in the gradually lightening dim. In a group a bit apart, the hunters were discussing what to do with the inhabitants of the manor when Jacob and Will, hands clasped tightly, interrupted.

“Thank you so much for breaking the spell we were trapped by, but we think you should leave now, before it gets too dangerous,” Jacob said, tone warm and cautious, not wanting to offend their saviors with his words.

“But, the spell’s broken, right? What danger is there?” Dean asked.

“Dean,” Cas replied, tilting his head, “have you not heard the creaking?”

“What creaking?” Dean paused, listening, and then wondered how he hadn’t already heard it. “What is that?”

“Wood, expanding and contracting. The house is aging,” Castiel explained, nodding toward Jacob and Will, who had the beginnings of wrinkles around their eyes, a streak or two of white apparent in Will’s hair. “And so are they. We need to leave before the floor is too old to walk on.”

“Son of a bitch. There has to be a way to stop it, reverse it,” Dean exclaimed, moving to put a hand on Jacob’s shoulder. He’d grown to like the man after sharing headspace with him for two days. Besides, it wouldn’t be fair for them not to get to enjoy their life together now that they finally could. “Cas?” he pleaded, looking over his shoulder at the angel.

“I’m sorry, Dean, this isn’t something I can heal. The magic barrier around this place kept it frozen in time for over 200 years. Now that time is catching up. There’s nothing we can do; we have to go.”

“But-”

“Dean, thank you for your concern, but it’s fine. We’ve had hundreds of years together and even if that was the same day over and over, it was one spent enjoying each other. We’re ready to move on,” Will insisted.

“Don’t worry, Dean, they’ll be sharing a heaven,” Castiel added, pulling him away from the couple gently with a hand on his shoulder.

“They will?” Mary asked, surprised. Not about them going to heaven, of course. They were obviously good boys. But, though she didn’t really remember heaven, she’d had dreams of it, and she’d definitely been alone there, reliving the happier moments of her life but never getting to experience anything new.

“Yes. Soulmates are allowed to stay together. If they want, and if both are bound for heaven,” Cas replied.

Looking at each other, Will and Jacob shared a smile. “We want,” they said together.

“But for now,” Will added, “we’d like to spend what little time we have left here alone.”

“Right. We can take a hint,” Bobby chimed in. “Alright you lot, anyone who wasn’t here two hundred years ago, better get while the gettin’s good.”

Claire and Charlie left first, checking the safety of the exit route. Then Jody and Donna helped Bobby herd the people who had disappeared into the time loop over the years, all filing out one by one over floorboards that creaked alarmingly. Ketch trailed behind, pausing at the door to give Mary a wistful look before following the others. Original inhabitants of the manor wandered off in ones and twos, most heading toward the kitchen and servants’ rooms, though Thomas snuck up the stairs instead, wanting to spend his last moments with his mistress, though she may already have succumbed to old age. Mary hugged Will, then Jacob, giving them both the loving mother’s gaze they should have gotten from Mrs. Norris.

Dean and Cas were last to leave, both wearing unfathomable expressions as they noticed the increased amounts of grey in Jacob’s red-brown hair, white in Will’s black. The sun had risen further while they talked and was peeking at the old house from over the tops of trees, watching it age year after year, minute by minute.

“So, uh, you guys take care of each other,” Dean said, clapping a hand on each of their shoulders. He wasn’t sure how to say goodbye to two gay dudes. Especially ones from over 200 years ago who’d screwed each other using his and Cas’s bodies. But then Will hugged him and Dean hugged back, realizing they were just dudes. Where/when they were from and who they loved didn’t matter a damn bit. Access to Jacob’s thoughts had told Dean all kinds of background about both men and there were so many parallels between Will and Jacob and Cas and Dean that they could be brothers. When Will released him to hug Cas in turn, Dean opened his arms to Jacob. “You’re so damn lucky,” he whispered as they hugged. “You got somethin’ most guys can only dream of, so don’t screw it up.”

“You too,” Jacob replied, with an encouraging squeeze.

“Cas an’ I aren’t-” 

But Jacob was already gone, moving on to hug Cas. He whispered something to the angel, who gave a small shake of his head, then they parted. Taking Will’s hand, they headed up creaking stairs to spend what remained of their time in Jacob’s bed and each other’s arms.

Cas watched them go, then grabbed Dean’s hand and tugged him toward the door.

 

20*****20*****20*****20*****20

 

“Dean! Finally!” Sam exclaimed as his brother and Cas emerged from the clearing, stepping through swirls of dissipating, rainbow-hued energy that gave occasional glimpses of the aging Manor like clouds drifting past the sun.

“Do I wanna know about the skeletons we passed on the way out?” Dean asked Jody as he returned Sam’s bone-crushing hug and handed him the plywood sign they’d picked up as they left.

“Mortimer Jones, missing since 1862. Everyone figured he’d just left to avoid getting involved in the war, Margaret Smith, missing 1885, Elizabeth Berkley 1921, and James Adams, 1932. Not sure who the other two were; if they were reported missing I didn’t find any record of it,” Charlie answered instead. She’d been the one to find the case and start working it. “Sorry you all got sucked into this. I think maybe I’ll stick to the bunker and tech support from now on. Or at least for a while. I don’t know if I’m cut out for this hunting stuff.”

“I vote we have a pizza party back at the bunker,” Sam suggested. “We can all compare notes and then get everyone home or sorted out later.” People who’d been missing a while would need at least a little time to acclimate and they’d need a cover story for where they’d been.

“That sounds like a good idea to me. We should see what cars still work and then figure out who’s riding with who,” Mary replied enthusiastically, gesturing toward the line of cars stretching through the woods. “Dean, honey, why don’t you and Cas head back first and get those pizzas ordered. I’m sure they’ll take a while.”

Dean gave his mom a curious look, but took the keys Sam shoved into his hand and followed Cas past the line of cars. “Do you get the impression Mom was trying to get rid of us?” he asked once they’d passed Jody’s truck and were well out of earshot.

“I think she wanted to give us some time alone together. Mary probably thinks we need to talk. After all, she did see us… in bed together,” Cas replied carefully. He knew how Dean felt about talking, especially about emotions and feelings. Not that he had those in relation to Cas, despite what Jacob had whispered privately before they parted. “But we don’t have to talk. I understand. What’s done is done, it’s in the past, pretend it never happened, right?”

“Cas? Is that not- Isn’t that what you want?” Dean asked, wondering why his friend sounded bitter.

“What I… It’s what _you_ want. Isn’t it?”

“I…” Dean started, licking his lips and running a hand through his hair. “Cas, you’re my best friend. More than that, even. You’ve pulled my ass outta the fire more times than I can count and no matter how much of an idiot I am, you’ve always forgiven me and stuck with me. I don’t wanna lose that.”

“Dean, I don’t want to lose that either. You are… very important to me,” Castiel replied just as cautiously as Dean.

“So, you don’t wanna… you know,” Dean asked, sighing when the look on Cas’s face said he didn’t know. “Be more than just…”

“Is… is that what you want, Dean?”

“Cas,” Dean sighed again as they came to the road and he used the key to unlock Baby’s passenger door. “I’m asking what _you_ want.”

“I don’t want anything you don’t want,” Cas responded, brows furrowing as he moved to the door but Dean kept his hand on the handle, not letting him open it yet.

“Me either. But I also don’t -not- want anything you don’t -not- want,” Dean said, his own forehead wrinkling as he tried to figure out if he’d said what he meant to.

“Don’t -not- want… Dean, what are you trying to say?” Cas asked, confused and slightly exacerbated.

 _Fuck it,_ Dean thought, boxing Cas in against the car and kissing him, hot and needy. He’d never been very good with words anyway.

Kissing back, Cas moaned softly against Dean’s lips, tongue pressing forward to request entrance and slipping past when those lips opened for him. They both got lost in the moment, enjoying the give and take of pleasure until Cas tensed, pulling back to look at Dean with stormy blue eyes. “Dean, wait. This… is this just because you liked what Will and Jacob did, or is it-”

“Cas, you idiot. It’s because I like _you_. Have for a long time, just didn’t… didn’t want to risk losing you.”

“Me too, Dean. But I didn’t think you’d ever want me this way.”

“Well, I definitely do,” Dean grinned, planting another kiss on Cas’s lips before opening the door for him. “What say we get the pizza and take ours to my room?”

“But, won’t everyone expect us to be at the ‘pizza party’? And It will be harder to talk while eating. If you want privacy, why can’t we just discuss what this is and where it’s going while we’re driving?” Castiel asked as they both got into the car and buckled up.

“I wasn’t planning on talking,” Dean grinned as he turned the key in the ignition, tossing a quick wink at Cas. As they pulled onto the road, he placed a hesitant hand on the angel’s knee.

“You weren’t?” Cas asked, voice laced with confusion. “Then what were you plan-” A squeeze on his knee followed by Dean’s hand sliding up his thigh clued him in and stole the rest of his question, leaving him nothing to say save a breathless, “Oh.”

**Author's Note:**

> The town in this story, Norris Illinois, is a real town, though the history presented here is not. The Native American protection charm is also fiction. I have no idea if there was ever such a thing. A search brought up a number of protection symbols for different types of protection and from different tribes. I went with a leather pouch containing various things because Will would have went with his intuition on what would work best, along with whatever his sister recommended, and I doubt any actual symbols would have as elaborate an effect. 
> 
> lastly, a heads up on my writing, I should be posting something every Monday from now on, though whether it's a one-shot or a chapter of a wip or collection of drabbles, that I can't say. I'm working on a few other writing projects that are taking up some time :D


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